Addressing the gender gap: Bolgatanga Technical University begins construction of Day Care Centre
The absence of a standard Day Care Centre at the Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) has been an issue of major concern for both female staff and students who are nursing mothers.
Advertisement
The development has been a great worry for the young women within the university community as they do not have a conducive place to keep their babies while attending to their work schedules and lectures.
To tackle this age-old problem, the management of the university has cut the sod for work to begin on the construction of the long-awaited centre to bring relief to the female staff and students.
The project, which is expected to be completed by April 2025, would be a haven for female staff and students to keep their children while at work on campus and to attend to other academic activities.
The project, which is aimed at providing a safe and inclusive environment where female students have equal access to education and opportunities, is being funded through a Direct Aid Programme grant of AUD49,834.00 from the Australian High Commission in Ghana.
Remove barriers
Speaking at a brief ceremony to hand over the site to the Directorate of Works and Physical Development of BTU, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Osei Boamah, said the provision of the centre would obviously remove the barriers faced by female staff and students having children.
He mentioned that the management of the university recognised the crucial need to provide the needed support to female students, especially those who are parents in their quest to acquire higher education.
He said “when completed, this new facility will remove impediments in the way of female students with children as they will be regular in class as well as fully participate in other academic activities”.
Other Trending Stories
He stressed that female staff would have a sound mind to concentrate on executing their task as they would no longer travel to the main town to pick up their children from similar facilities, saying “due to the absence of a standard pre-school in the area, the centre will be of immense benefit to the university community and its environs”.
While thanking the Australian High Commission for the support, he appealed to other development partners to come on board to contribute to efforts towards the development of the university.
Baseline study
The Project Lead, Professor Daniel Azerikatoa Ayoung, said as part of gender equality programmes and support services, the centre would result in the retention of female students through the creation of an inclusive and supportive campus culture.
He pointed out that the project was birthed after a baseline gender equality study had been conducted, saying “mainly female students mentioned the lack of daycare centre as a contributory factor to low female students’ enrolment and retention”.
He expressed the hope that upon completion, the centre would help increase female enrolment and retention, greater participation of female students in academic and extra-curricular activities, as well as proper child development.
For his part, the Director of Works and Physical Development, Tom Mboya Asigri, gave the assurance that the project would be completed ahead of schedule to serve the intended purposes.
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh.